A Strange Season

Glenda personifies the current oddness of life

Since my last installment, pretty much everything that was on the calendar for 2020 was cancelled...but that doesn't mean we just gave up.  Sometimes you have to embrace the strange and do what you can with it. So this blog is a catching up for this strange season an there will be more focused posts going forward. I think it mainly goes to show that life changes, but at least for me the REALLY important things haven't stopped (just maybe gone a bit virtual).

VIRTUAL VACATION SHENANIGANS

In June, we took a virtual running cruise to Alaska!  It was appropriate, since Alaska is one of our favorite places to go...and running cruises are one of our favorite ways to travel.  The "trip" included a FaceBook page where there were several activities such as telling jokes on hump day and karaoke on friday as well as just general sharing.  

We definitely went all in on the jokes...here's an example

There was also Karaoke and other photos and videos. 

And at the end of the cruise we got an "Oscar" for all our shenanigans...and Shenanigans Studios was born.  (A bit more on that later)

And of course there were virtual races.

The first virtual Alaska was the Moosehead 5k.  We repped for Bullwinkle Moose's alma mater (and it was my latest 5k so far this season)

Who better for a treasure hunt than a pirate and a prospector

A couple of well-fed Ravens (in honor of the Skinny Raven running store in Anchorage) ran a trail predictor race the "Ward Lake Loop"

Claiming to be "Fittish" for the final 5k 

MORE VIRTUAL RACES (AND ONE REAL ONE!)

Besides the Alaska Races, there have been a number of other virtual races including a Summer series put on by some of the same people that do the Virtual (and real, when it is possible) running cruises.  As such they each had a different way to win the race, which I find very appealing. 

The Summer 5 x 5k series

Race #1 was a patriotic themed "treasure hunt" that we did on July 4. (I also added on to complete the Have a Blast 4-miler)

Race #2 was the Lemonade 5k...a prediction race (I never predict well!) So of course we were lemony!

Race #3 was the Ice Cream 5k, to win you had to have the median time.  I was slower and Glenda was faster, but we definitely had the ice cream gear

Race #4  The Lightning But was all about speed (and Glenda won!)...we ran in at dusk with firefly skirts and blinking lights

And finally, race #5...the Roller Coaster.  Cue the hills, the rollercoaster skirt and the silly shirts

Plus 2 Virtual 5ks, a Du and a Tri (or 2)

Also in the last couple of months, I did a couple of other virtual 5ks which appealed to me, the 2nd in my progressive Du series, and a Virtual Triathlon that replace a travel race slated for October.  I also did another tri, but I'll talk about that later. 

On July 13 I did my second du of the year, one I completely made up, based on one I did years ago...The Suellen's a Tough Cookie Du

On July 28, I repped for Wisconsin in the Big Ten Network 5k, a race I've been meaning to do for awhile that was virtual this year

On August 7, I completed the Ramblin' Rose Virtual Tri (250 yds/9 mile bike/2 mile run) which took the place of the race I was to have done in Chapel Hill, NC.  Incidentally, I got one of my favorite run pictures of the year so far

August 18, 2020 was the hundredth anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment "Women's Suffrage" ...I ran a 5k to honor the day.

And a racetastrophy

And then there was the real life Du that wasn't.  I signed up for the Screw City Du months and months ago.  It was actually held on the 26th of July (after a postponement from May).  There were lots of precautions in place and masks were required except while actually racing.  The day came and the heat index at the 8 am start was over 90 degrees and the heat was oppressive.  By the end of the first run I knew it wasn't my day...so I dropped to the 2 mile run option.  Probably my worst race day ever. 

Masks and medals at the hottest race(s) ever

A BIG BIRTHDAY REIMAGINED

On July 8, 2020 my Mom turned 90 years old.  Originally we had planned for a big party, but COVID-19 put a stop to that. So the family "divided and conquered" to come together

The birthday girl on her 90th...doesn't she look great?

First came the "card shower" before the birthday...she got cards and letters from many.  There were signs in her yard and on her door into the hall in her condo. 

On the day of her birthday, my son's family brought candy and the girls made a giant card, my brother and his wife brought her a steak dinner, and later we stopped by with cake. 

A few days later there was a firetruck parade, photos, another cake and a family Zoom meeting with special guest appearances by several old friends and co-workers. After all of this Mom declared herself more than sufficiently celebrated.

SUCKING IT UP FOR MY KIDDO

On July 21, 2020 my daughter. Melanie was scheduled for back surgery to extend her spinal fusion.  She was allowed one support person and I was elected.  

I hadn't been able to see Mel for some time as for several weeks her group home was being very careful about visitors. But once the surgery was scheduled, I attended her last two pre-op appointments. I also spent the night in a hotel the night before the surgery and sat in the hospital most of the day of surgery.

I was glad to do those things for her, but the anxiety about these visit was pretty overwhelming. 

Pre-surgery photo in her stylish chapeau. After a month, she is healing well, through inpatient rehab and back home.  Surgery appears to have been a success.

TAKING A CHANCE WITH A SHORT TRIP

We had MANY trips cancelled this year.  One of them was a trip with our granddaughters and their parents to Branson, MO in July.  At that point the virus was high in our area and blowing up in that area of Missouri/Arkansas, and none of us was comfortable with the trip.  

So we decided that we needed to try to find something safer.  We settled on a big house in Door County, WI with amenities that meant that we didn't have to interact with the rest of the world any more than we wanted. We were fortunately able to be quite certain that no one had the virus before we went.

There was fishing both in Sturgeon Bay (directly behind the house) and the stocked swimming/and fishing pond in the front of the house. 

Fisher Ellie

Fisher Maeve

Some of the fisher crew

Swimming was another favorite activity

The pond had a floating dock

And we put on our own triathlons,  one for us and one for the kids

Ellie finishes the tri

Maeve dashes to the finish

Glenda and I preparing to start our tri

And of course, there were s'more...because, s'mores!

S'mores!

BECOMING UNRETIRED

About 18 months ago I announced my retirement from adjunct teaching,  mostly because helping to deal with all of Melanie's issues before, during and after her major bladder surgery was consuming. Between that and our athletic and travel pursuits I couldn't really give my work the time and energy it deserved.  But I really never fully adjusted to being retired, I frankly did not like it.

Once Melanie was settled not quite a year ago, I told just one school (that I'd been adjunct for for almost 9 years at that point), that I might be willing to teach again. I early August they contacted me to see if I would teach a class...and by the time all was said and done I was teaching two, and have been assigned two more for the Spring. 

MORE SHENANIGANS AHEAD!

So what's next?  Lots of things.  For instance starting August 30 we will be doing another virtual cruise...this time Hawaii! And there will be more videos and races and general goofiness. All of our videos are now "credited" to Shenanigans Studios, an idea born in the wake of our Alaska videos. 

Keep Er Movin'

Pictured is Charlie Berens of the the Manitowoc Minute

A few blog posts ago I talked about all the world travel and fabulous races planned for this year.  We got one trip in...and then, like everyone else, we were stymied by COVID-19.  It sucks...I mean REALLY sucks to be sure.  And we are not alone, I know many of you reading this are in exactly the same boat.  But at the end of the day, we are adaptable...and as a Midwesterner born and bred, I found myself needing to heed the words of Charlie Berens (it you don't know the Manitowoc Minute...click the link above and see an episode from late March/early April of 2020)...and find a way to "keep 'er movin'"

Glenda and I both kept working out, kept hoping for the best for our races, even when sometimes it felt futile.  

Easter Virtual Ash Dash/Cottontail Classic 5k featured Little Bunny FooFoo and a Chomped Chocolate Bunny

We ran a 5k (combining two virtual races) in our neighborhood and that was nice.  And we decided maybe we could run the odd virtual to help keep us motivated. Glenda had already said that she was going to run the distance on the day of her London Marathon, just because...

Glenda's London Marathon got picked up by the local news...click the link in the paragraph below to see the story

But THEN Glenda did something that kicked us in the right direction. She went big, and we did a lot of planning and she ran the London Marathon, in London, Wisconsin!   The news coverage was a surprise....but we were prepared to do it large.  I made lemon blueberry scones the day before, we made reconnaissance drives to pick out pubs (the local tavern), cathedrals (the local church), rivers (Koshkanong Creek became the River Thames), ships (someone's fishing boat became the Queen Mary), etc. along her route...we put up banners, a toilet paper finish line, got flags for spectators, procured cut outs of Her Majesty and Big Ben.  I made Glenda a skirt and of course we had masks with the Union Jack.  We invited friends to run along or cheer from a social distance (several did and all were respectful and careful).  And we ate fish and chips when it was done.  It was a glorious day...and I (along with Glenda) decided that in big and small ways I needed more of this. 

Glenda and I running to honor my mom...Mom took the photo!

Before long Mother's Day rolled around.  I wanted to find a way to honor my mom, but she is almost 90, and though very healthy for her age,  has some pre-existing health issues.  So hanging at her house or going out together seemed ill-advised.  We have been seeing her now and then, but alway at a distance and either outside or on her screened in porch.  I saw an ad for a Mother's Day Virtual Race with a good (anti-domestic abuse) charity...and a light went on.  Why not run a 5k for Mom...and do it at her house where she could watch and chat from the screen porch.  We put on our heart skirts, pink shirts and homemade bibs (mine was 2, as I am Mom's second child and Glenda was +1, because she is my +1)...took my Mom a homemade card and some homemade cookies and ran 7.5 hilly laps in her condo's circle drive.  Mom came out, took pictures and had a bit of a walk...again all great fun! 

Ready to roll on my self-made duathlon

But I haven't been training just for running...I had a duathlon on my schedule (and I still have triathlons coming up, no idea if they will happen).  My duathlon changed their schedule, rather than having a virtual option.  So I did a little research, and found a few dus...but the most popular were longer distances than I felt ready to do.  So I decided to create my own, and looked back at some of the duathlons I had done in the past.  Thus, the Suellen's personal progressive duathlon series was born. The first was based on an early season du I had done a couple of times in Texas...the TriGirl.  I called this version the "(I'm a) TriGirl Minisprint Du" .5 mile run/8 mile bike/2 mile run. I even gave a donation to an animal charity (The Wisconsin House Rabbit Society), as TriGirl usually partnered with animal charities.  (I'd have done the original TriGirl virtually, but they postponed, too).

 While Glenda did the USAT standard distance virtual...I did my minisprint.  We carefully planned a course and a place to park our transition area, and though her race took longer than mine, we were able to see each other on course and cheer each other.  I didn't know if a completely made up event would work for me, but it did!  The second in the series titled "Suellen is a Tough Cookie Du" will be 1.5 miles/10 miles/1.5 miles and is currently scheduled for July 11.

In June we have signed up for a virtual "trip" that includes weekly virtual races...so more shenanigans to look forward to and blog about!

Keep 'Er Movin'!

The rest of the cruise and home again

Pontouf examines Glenda's yellow hat once we are home

In our last installment, Glenda and I had swapped stories and were headed for San Juan.   I would be remiss if I did not tell one of Glenda's stories, as it became one of the stories of the trip.  

Glenda's bike ride had a beach stop on the French side of St. Maarten Island.  What she didn't know until she was off was that the stop was at a nude beach.  The group was told before the stop...but thought the guide was joking.  He wasn't.  

Glenda's Facebook description of the experience

John talked about it at breakfast the next morning, whereupon "just don't look for their race bibs"  became a catch phrase within the group.  It was also at this breakfast that Glenda received her coveted yellow hat for being the fastest woman in the 10k on St. Maarten.

Seen in the Streets of Old San Juan

Our event in Puerto Rico was an "Amazing Race"  which is essentially a teamwork-based race in which you have to find and document various locations.  Each location is worth a number of points, and the team that gathers the most points in NO MORE THAN 60 MINUTES is the winner. The timing is important, because it adds a wrinkle to the race.  In fact I heard one team got the highest point location, but arrived back 3 or 4 minutes late...disqualified. Our strategy was to walk this one, and go for the low-hanging fruit and enjoy the sights and sounds of Old San Juan.  It was the perfect choice for us. 

The amazing race was pirate themed and there were a variety of pirate costumes.  We had ours too, but with a twist that turned out to be important. 

A particular type of Pirates takes to the streets in Old San Juan

What we had not thought about or really realized is that Roberto Clemente played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and he and his son Roberto Clemente, Jr. continue to be very popular here, so the Pirates are well known in Puerto Rico.  We got cheers everywhere we went.  Not only that, we were stopped by one gentleman who had to tell us about how he'd met Clemente as a kid,  as the baseball player was a friend of his abuela.  And another stopped us to tell us how Jr. was his friend and customer...and pulled up a selfie on his phone to prove it.  We didn't win the race, but we won the day in terms of connecting with the locals and having a fabulous time.  And we saw a lot of sights like...

The colorful streets of Old San Juan

This was not an official checkpoint...but it is an important landmark!

The view from a checkpoint at the top of the city (Old San Juan is "hill-ish")

After the race, we met up at Señor Frog's near the port for a Running Cruise Celebration...including food, drinks (who doesn't need a margarita at 9:30 in the morning?), a DJ and various other shenanigans. 

We were presented with fashionable headwear

Glenda reminds us not to look for the race bib

Yep, I even got on stage to help lead Sweet Caroline and YMCA...did I mention morning margaritas?

It was an early day in Old San Juan as we had to be back on the ship by 1 pm and off to our next and final port.  Originally we were to go to Coco Cay in the Bahamas, but weather patterns did not allow, and we went instead to Labadee, a Royal Caribbean private port, in Haiti.

A view in Labadee

First order of business in Labadee?  A race of course! This time a relay.  To win this one, you needed to  choose 2, 4 or 6 miles and then predict the finish time for your team of 2.  Each runner had to run a half mile loop and hand off to the other to run the same loop (continue back and forth until you reach the miles...must be between 30 and 60 minutes). Glenda and I chose 4 miles and made our prediction. 

Getting ready to start the relay

Of course we had costumes for the race, as well. We have worn these on a couple of cruises, but they are a favorite.

Mermaids in Haiti

We ran our best and came within a little over a minute off our prediction...not bad, but other's were closer on their predictions.  We then received our medals for the cruise and went off to explore. 

Artsy shot of the medal, which is also a coaster

Afterward we spent the rest of our time in Labadee doing all kinds of tourist things, like...

The splash pad (HEY, why didn't we run through here on our relay??)

The amazing teal ocean

And the best kind of beach time

On the final day of the cruise, we were at sea.  The day started with a wonderful talk by Coach Jenny about her coaching philosophy and ideas about making workouts work with your life.  It was very interesting and enjoyable.  It was followed by lots of laughter as John told stories about his life as a runner and columnist. 

The rest of the day was packing and lounging until the evening when we had our final social and awards ceremony.  Always a good time, as we made a final toast to each other and had one last chat.  

The end of another great trip!  Will we be back next year?  You betcha!  Already signed up!

At Sea and in St. Maarten

Beach in Ft. Lauderdale

When last we left our intrepid explorers, they had just finished the Run Florida race and were preparing for shenanigans at sea.  But before they could leave, they had to get their workouts in...

For me that meant a sweaty selfie during my...

Recovery spin

While Glenda swam many laps corner to corner in the hotel pool.  She would have done an open water swim, but there were rip current warnings and warnings for man 'o war on the beach.  Feeling righteously proud of ourselves for getting it done, we ate our breakfast, packed up our suitcases and headed for the buses to take us to the ship. 

At that point, we realized that the bus people had brought slightly smaller buses and failed to figure how much luggage there would be for our group.  We were clear that the bus was not happening for us, and Glenda told the staff for our group we'd just get a cab.  But NO, they said, we have an option....you guys can ride in the van with John (Bingham) and Jenny (Hadfield)...not only the cruise leaders, but truth be told, two of my running idols.  I didn't turn it down.  Jenny and John are genuinely nice people...and if you get to hang with John for very long there is always a story or two.  This was no exception and before you know it we were at the Cruise Port preparing to board the Allure of the Seas (along with a throng of humanity, as the ship holds about 5,000 passengers I believe...120 or so of them are our group).

Sampling desserts as well as other food is a popular way to pass the time at sea

It so happens that this particular cruise starts with 2 days at sea, and we lost little time before pursuing one of our favorite activities...buffet! Seriously though....there is SO much food on cruise ships.

We settled in and dined with fellow runners Sunday night, then on to a welcome reception where we get details on the week's activities...and learned that we were in the first wave meeting at 7:20 for Monday morning's 5k at sea.  After the reception we were off to our cabin.

The 5k at Sea is just what it sounds like...we run or walk or whatever combination a 5k on the running deck of the ship.  On this ship it takes 2.4 laps to make a mile.  8 times around is 5k-ish (actually 3.33 miles).  

We dressed as honorary crew members for the 5k at Sea

Glenda did this one with me.  It does get moderately crowded, and an extra level of challenge is added because you are on the open ocean...and in this case it was a bit windy.  Essentially what that means is that it feels like running after a couple of glasses of wine.  Jenny and the staff were at the start of each new loop to cheer us on with music, a little dancing, and cold water at the end. And Glenda kept me going in the last half lap by pulling up "In the Navy" by the Village People on her phone.  And of course we sang along, and of course some of the others got in on it.  That's the beauty of these cruises...even when some folks are running quite seriously...we are all a bunch of grown ups playing together. To "win" this race was luck...everyone drew a card at the end and the ace of spades was the winner.  Each race is different, some by luck, some by speed, some by teamwork and some by prediction.  That gives everyone a chance at the coveted yellow hat...the award for winning any race and various other awards. 

The rest of Monday, my plan was to do as little as possible.  This is something I rarely allow myself to do at home, even though I am retired.  

Having the time and the quiet to just read is a luxury I enjoy on these trips

I spent the rest of Monday napping, reading, eating (of course), watching the ocean go by and exploring a bit of the ship. Ended the day with dinner with the group.

Tuesday was also a sea day, but we found plenty to do. Jenny had a strength and stretching workout that I originally intended to attend, but we woke up a little late and decided to listen to John's oft-stated exhortation...this is your vacation and you don't HAVE to do anything you don't want to do. So we skipped it.  Besides my coach had entered a rest day on Training Peaks for that day...with the instructions "Pina Coladas for everyone!" (have I mentioned lately that I love my coach). Glenda went and did the workout prescribed by her coach (because of course she did)...and then we set about finding other things to do.  On a ship this big and well-equipped that is not a problem. 

Not surprisingly this is one of my favorite places

Having finished the fun book I had brought with me, and not wanting to spend all my time reading the more serious one, I meandered down to the library to find something light to read.  I actually like to sit in the ship's library as it is usually quiet and comfortable.

After a relatively light lunch, Glenda and I stopped by to visit with staff members Cathy and Pam (and incidentally sign up for next year's cruise...I mean we already have figured out some of the costumes, what can you do?). While we were there another runner said she was going to go ice skate (yes, there is an ice rink on the ship!) and since Glenda has been wanting to go...we were off to the rink.  I went for moral support and photo/video purposes. She says it was a win, because she didn't fall down.

Glenda has only skated once or twice before..she's brave! Added degree of difficulty ship is moving and it's pretty wavy out there

After that we went to the matinee performance of Mama Mia which we had scheduled before hand.  It was a good production (we've seen it several times) and I'm always in awe of the performers singing and dancing on a big boat rocking in the ocean. 

The stage, pre-show...no photos allowed during

By the time that was over, it was nearly dinner time. We chose to skip the group dinner in favor of a dip in the hot tub and dinner in an alternate restaurant on our own.  But we did make it to the other group event of the evening....Karaoke!  

We had free drinks to promote courage :)

We didn't take the stage, but we did sing along from the back of the room.  Many others were braver (or possibly more bolstered) than us.  And the singing ranged from the lovely and touching to the not so lovely but enthusiastic.  All of it was great fun.  Jenny, John, Cathy and Pam (our staff) led us all in a rousing rendition of YMCA..and the first hour was closed out with Sweet Caroline.  For anyone reading this that doesn't know, Sweet Caroline has a special meaning for runners.  So the song is played after the 8th inning of all the games in Fenway Park, and has become a bit of a good luck charm for the city of Boston.  The year after the marathon bombings, the song was played as a tribute at the Boston Marathon, and several other marathons around the country pick it up and played it before their races.  So it has become, to those who remember those years, a tribute to the determination and resilience of the running community.  It also doesn't hurt that it is a catchy tune...I mean who can't sing "Sweet Caroline...bum, bum,bum...good times never felt so good."  Though some folks stayed and sang longer, that was a brilliant end of the day for us, and we went back to our room on a high note. 

Now I know I'm in the Caribbean...look at the color of that water!

On Wednesday morning we arrived at our first port Phillipsburg, St. Maarten on the Dutch side of the island.  We had breakfast with the group and then disembarked to run the St. Maarten Beach 5k/10k.  We were greeted by two signs that we were truly in the Caribbean...turquoise water and the sound of Steel Drums ringing through the air. 

Steel drum band at the cruise port

It was humid and very warm for those of us from northern climes.  If it were not for the fairly strong breeze it might have felt unbearable. 

Glenda and I were dressed in sea shell skirts and t-shirts declaring "we sell sea shells". Glenda claimed that was going to be our retirement gig...selling sea shells by the sea shore. 

The outfits

After a final briefing we were walked to our start line and off we went. 

Looking to the left from the start...if you look closely you can see goats on the hillside. 

As you might gather from the above photo, parts of the course were quite hilly, That made it harder, but it also got us what Jenny refers to as "earned views."

This is one view part way up...the island on the far horizon is St. Bart's

Me at the same point, but looking back

After struggling over a few more hills, I was toast.  By the time we reached the fairly flat boardwalk I was walking.  I nearly stopped at 2.25...but decided to stick it out.  I had to stop a couple of times in the last mile as I could feel my heart rate climbing.  Glenda came back to find me (she'd done the 10k and finished well) and after rest, a cold drink and conversation with some of the others...mostly about how hot it was....we headed back on the 10 minute walk to the ship.  It took 30 minutes, between the meandering, the short rest stops and the slow pace. 

My favorite rest stop on the return trip

When we got back to the ship, I collapsed in a heap, while Glenda prepared to go on a bike ride excursion to the French side of the Island and points in between. 

That's us after the race with our ship in the background

Once I sent Glenda off and rested awhile, I had lunch and then headed back into the cruise port for a little shopping and more photos.  

St. Maarten is ruggedly hilly and beautiful

This is another view of our ship, The Allure of the Seas

Glenda and I arrived back at the cabin about the same time, swapped stories...and ended the day with a dinner with cruise friends up. 

Next up...San Juan!